Why is Permaculture Paganism?

PERMACULTURE IS a system of agricultural and social design principles centered on simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.

Permaculture is a philosophy of working with rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system. — Bill Mollison

The principles of permaculture, according to Bill Mollison, are:

Work with rather than against Nature — you are a part of Nature so you have no choice. If you do not understand this, you will have problems — you or future generations. It is a fact and absolutely certain.

The problem is the solution. An example: the plants we want to fight are always there to repair a soil deficit or something similar. The problem (these plants) is therefore the solution. They are the best way to fix the problem that causes them to grow there. When the problem is repaired, they will not grow there anymore. In the same way, even desertification is a solution. It exterminates the living beings that have caused this desertification. Maybe it pushes some to act, to avoid it. You must understand that Nature works in a closed circuit. This principle, “the problem is the solution,” is extremely well formulated to understand Nature as a whole, and it applies in everyday life, for all is Nature. In the same way, do you see as a problem the fact that you are tired, that your eyes are closing? This problem is the solution; sleep will bring you back to your normal capacity. It is a simple, stoic, temperate, and just way of seeing the world.

Make the least change for the greatest possible effect. This is almost the principle of Stoicism. Change things if you can, and do not get upset about what you can not change, but accept those things and understand them.

The yield of a System is theoretically unlimited(or only limited by the imagination and information of the designer).

Everything “gardens” (that is, modifies its environment).

Paganism was a life in harmony with Nature. The things of Nature were sacred and respected. The “pattern science” of our forebears enabled them to understand the functioning of Nature even in its invisible details. The principle of reincarnation required care for the Earth, and future generations. It also required right, honorable, and moral behavior to be chosen by a child—and to live again.

It was not conceivable to consume the share of the following generations. Trees were heavily respected and their importance understood. We knew that they were living beings, that they stored memories, so to speak, and that they were able to communicate, in their own way.

They only took from Nature what was necessary. Temperance was a major law in the philosophy of our ancestors (see, for example, Stoicism). It was known that taking too much would create serious problems in the long-term future.

That time was, in fact, quite different from today. Take the example of dolmens: built to last thousands of years, as a tool of reminiscence, before being covered with soil. Plato said that there were between ten and three thousand years between each reincarnation. The perspective of our ancestors was very long, and the one of modern men, very short—they often consider fifty years “long-term.”

The desert religions [that is, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — Ed.] have fought and annihilated this ancient knowledge. They cleared the forests, killed the big predators, turned the soil over, burned the women and men who held the knowledge of Nature, and banned all transmission. They hid the process of reincarnation, and even ridicule it.

For the religions of the desert, humans ought to dominate Nature; human beings “know” that Nature is their slave. There is a myth of eternal progress, an eternal evolution that pushes humans to dominate Nature more and more, in order to be able to take more and more from it, annihilate it completely, and reign alone as “master” (over what? a desert?).

For our Pagan ancestors, and for permaculture, it is Nature that dominates — the human being is of course a part of Nature, and he must learn from it and follow its laws. Every action is made in relation to Nature, and in the respect of its maintenance.

I believe that authentic Paganism, the deep instinct we share with our ancestors, is reborn in those who relate to permaculture. I have an immense and deep respect for these people, for all people who work with Nature fight the erosion of the soil and the advance of the deserts. I connect with all of these people and I am basically certain that we have a lot in common, even if we often seem to be opposite in the boxes of the modern political chessboard.

Maybe you are asking yourself: “She is talking about temperance? But how do I know if I take too much from Nature?” So I have a principle for you: “If you are not able to clean after yourself, then you are taking too much from Nature.” That means that you, but also me, are taking much too much from Nature. It is the difference between barbaric man (who are living with respect for Nature) and the civilized or domesticated man (who are absorbing Nature and destroying it, and in fact, himself).

Thanks to all permaculturers and thanks to the association Kokopelli.

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The author’s husband, Varg Vikernes, was inspired by the concept of this video to make his own, showing that “the problem is the solution” in terms of non-White invasion of White countries, adding that economic poverty itself can be a positive good in preserving the genetic integrity of the people, as in present-day Belarus.

Hi, I just want to say that the permaculture way of living and treating nature is in fact as I see it not in contradiction to christian faith. Only that greed and exploitation of others is sinful (missing the mark). One day will come that even the trees will clap their hands in joy when man really comes to know Gods heart, relates deeply heart to heart to God, and thus acts acording to his nature. This is in fact what the bible says. The whole creation groans and suffers until that happens. The implementation of Gods kingdom on earth will come, and Jesus asked us to pray for that to come, and to let it come in daily life by receiving grace and power to do that through the indwelling of his Holy Spirit made available by him as he gave out his life on the cross. So much has been done in religious attempts without the life and the love that he wants us to tap into.

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